Cincy Reporter

A woman recently made Cincinnati Police Department history for the second time by being appointed interim police chief. 

According to WLWT5 News, Teresa Theetge was promoted to executive assistant police chief in Feb. 2020, becoming the highest-ranking woman in the police department's history. She recently made history again by being appointed interim police chief, the first-ever female to lead the CPD.

"There's no glass ceiling at city hall," Theetge said in a statement, according to WLWT5. "I look forward to being the first female and showing I can do just as well as a male counterpart can do it, but I also look forward to the day when race or gender are not part of the conversation." 

Theetge replaces current Chief Eliot Isaac who recently retired on Feb. 18.

"With my retirement from CPD on Friday, the city has named @TeresaTheetge the Interim Police Chief," Isaac wrote in a Feb. 16 Twitter post. "Cincinnati is in good hands."

Isaac had 33 years of service with the Cincinnati Police Department, according to the CPD's website.

Theetge has been with CPD for more than 31 years, holding the position of assistant chief for the last six years. 

CPD Officer Sabreen Robinson, a woman with 20 years of service with the CPD, told WLWT5 News that she hopes Theetge's appointment will raise interest for women considering joining the CPD and that there's still progress to be made.

"Twenty years ago all I can remember is this male-dominated profession," Robinson told WLWT5 News. "I've felt a couple times, too, that I've had to prove myself as a woman on this job"

"We're still talking about the first female and we're in 2022," Robinson added. "It bothers me that we still are saying the first, but it's great that we're saying the first."

Cincinnati probably won't be naming the new chief no earlier than July.